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BigPapa Trip Report...2006--Part 1
Wed - Feb. 8th. 2006 thru Feb. 23rd. 2006 ......ARUBA TRIP
For those of you that DON’T want to read a Journal about my trip...This is for you!
Titled....The 4 Gsssss
Great Weather......Great Food.....Great People......Great Island...The End!!
STOP READING STOP READING STOP READING STOP READING
For those of you that want to read more...as Paul Harvey would say...This is the....
REST OF THE STORY.
PROLOG
Hello everyone - This is our 3rd. Trip to Aruba in 18 months for my wife Georgene and I. This isn’t so much a Trip report as it is a Journal of where we went...What we did....and how I felt about it all.
I have been married to the only woman I have ever Loved for 28 years! I have 3 sons and 2 dogs. I am not a world traveler ...or a connoisseur of fine wines. I hold no P.H.D. or O.B.G.Y.N..
Please be advised....The following reading may have the following side affects.....Extreme drowsiness and diarrhea. Thank you for your time<BigPapa>
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Feb. 8th. 2006......Georgene and I are packed and head to Chicago to stay at a hotel where we can leave our car and in the morning the hotel will shuttle us to the airport at 6am.
We order pizza in and it’s a restless short night. I am up at 3:30am and I beat the wake up call by an hour. I have heartburn, and I don’t know if it’s the excitement of the trip or the pizza I had last night. Ha
As I watch Georgene sleep - I think about all the plans I have been working on for months. You see not only will we be celebrating our 28th. Wedding anniversary, but unbeknownst to Georgene I have planned to Renew our wedding Vows.
I was 21 when we got married ( and that was to young for me ). I know that in the early years of our marriage I wasn’t the Husband she deserved, but she was with me All the Way. I believe in my heart....Good women are Created....and Good men our Made. She has helped me to become the Man and Father I am today.....Enough of the mush....LETS GO TO ARUBA!!!!
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Thur - Feb. 9th.......I wake up sleeping beauty and we scurry around, grab a cup of coffee and a donut and board the shuttle. There are 2 other couples on the shuttle ( in their 30's ) headed to Aruba for the 1st. Time. They find out we have been their before and have lots of questions. My first thought is to tell them ALL I know....but then I think....This Island we all Love...is to be Discovered. Sure I have facts, but for the most part I have just opinions...So I tell them to Just Relax...they should have a Great time...to slow it all down, they are about ready to leave their Fast paced world behind.
Everything goes smooth...We arrive at our gate and the plane is on time. We are sitting here with people from all over the World....and I reach over and pat and rub Georgene on the leg..Why?—Well from as far back as I can remember...I would see my Father do this to my Mother...( To me )..it meant...” Everything is ok..Sweetheart ..or..”It will be ok..Dear “. What ever it’s meaning...I knew it was a Good Thing...and I do this subconsciously.
We board the plane and we both have isle seats across from one another. As I approach my seat I see the woman I am going to be sitting by and her eyes look alarmed. Under her breath I hear five words...”Hail Mary...Mother of Grace “. I sit down and say Hi...she says nothing..( Can you feel the love ). Before we take off, the Stewardess comes over to me and says “ Sir ..we have seats open right behind 1st. Class that have more leg room..would you and your wife like to sit their “
I think of the woman beside me, and think I should stay here...So I can Snore her brains out...but I say “ sure that would be great. We get to our new seats and there is tons of room. There are 2 young ladies sitting across the isle from me ( in there early 20s ) and I say Hi and apologize ahead of time for my Snoring..and they say ( Oh-Don’t worry about it )...Well..yes I am asleep before the tires leave the runway, and over the coarse of the flight George ribs me 50 times.
I wake up 3 and a half into a 4 and a half hour flight and I look over at the 2 young ladies...and 1 of 2 things must have happened. The airlines Must have shown a Horror movie in flight or those 2 young ladies watched me the Whole Time.
Our plane lands 20min. Ahead of time and everything goes smooth...Our luggage takes about 15 min. to get and we are thru the doors. The 1st. thing I see is a Sign that says ( BigPapa ) and I see Hans smiling face. He owns and operates Tropic Rental Car. Some would say he is smiling because he just saw ( $380.00 dollars ) walk thru the door ( 2 weeks rental ), but I say he is smiling because he just saw someone that Trusts him and has Faith in him.
Next I see Charlies ( from Fast Phones )...I have a cell phone reserved and we chat briefly. To me he doesn’t look good, way to thin ( a lot thinner than a year ago )...He tells me he feels fine, but I think what has happened within the last year to him and his island has Hurt him. He is a lot like me...He wears his Heart on his sleeve, and I can tell you first hand that you get hurt that way.
He is a Nice man that provides a trustworthy service to the Visitors of His Island. I would have liked to have gotten together with him and met his Son, but It didn’t work out this time.
We follow Hans thru the sliding doors and this warm breeze hits you in the face, I stand their for like 3 seconds and take that first Aruban Air all in....For those seconds I am standing their with 2 weeks of “ Life in Aruba “ ahead of me. That’s a Good Feeling. In less than 5 min. we are in the car and on the road. After being here 2 times before driving around is a breeze.
We have rented a private Apt.....it belongs to a man from New York ( whom I have never met ). He has a home on L.G. Smith Blvd.—2 blocks past the Marriott - it’s an un-attached Apt. And from our patio we can see the ocean. It’s a simple place - but quiet and clean . Rose the maid is a doll. Renting a place like this gives me the feeling of living on the Island instead of a hotel atmosphere. My first impression of this place wasn’t the best, but as the days went by we loved it more and more. We get settled in and it’s just about Sunset time ( when you are in Aruba missing a Sunset is almost a sin ) so we walk over to the beach and barefoot together we watch our first sunset—Wow—just breathtaking. The wind blowing...the blue waters, and the colors bursting across the sky. Just this moment...standing here hand in hand...You know Life is Good.
From the moment the sun looks like it is touching the water ...it takes 2 and a half min. and it’s gone ( just that Fast ). It reminds me of how Special moments in our Lives go so fast. Well it’s been a long day and my stomach is growling, so we decide to head to Rio ( www.riosteakhouse.com ). I have heard good things about this place, but have never seen many cars their.
It’s a large red building on the corner of Sasaki and L.G.Smith Blvd. Nice decor and wood floors thru out. Albert is our man at the door and I tell him I have heard good things about this place, and with a laugh he says ( I pay people to say that ). George had the pan-fried red snapper and I had a ribeye steak. All was great and it came with a salad. This place reminds me of El Gauchos, but quieter and less expensive. For dessert we had what they call ( The Apple Bag )..it’s like a small apple pie pastry served with vanilla ice-cream...and it was warm and delicious.
We ended this long traveling day, by heading back to the Apt. And taking a blanket over to the beach and sitting together for about an hour. This island is even gorgeous at night. We had another blanket to put around us, because George was chilly and it made it cozier. Sitting there with Georgene..looking out over the Ocean...with the Moon light making a path across the water for Lovers to follow was a Special moment..( This trip had a lot of Special moments ) another special moment is Georgene hitting me in the ribs saying “ Hey..You dog...Your falling asleep “...it must have been the heavy breathing that gave me away. Ha
We head back to the Apt. And it’s...Lights out........I will close for now.
Life is for living....and Love is for sharing....and I Love sharing with all of you<BigPapa>
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